HiFX Morning Update, May 17 2018

The NZDUSD opens at 0.6896 (mid-rate) this morning.

The Kiwi has managed to recover some ground overnight, after setting new lows around 0.6850 in the current down-trend.

The commodity currencies on the whole were the best performers across the majors, despite some geopolitical uncertainty surrounding North Korea. U.S. equity markets rose modestly, and treasury markets finished the day unchanged after showing early strength.

In a statement issued by the state-run Korean Central New Agency, North Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kye Gwan suggested Trump must accept the communist party as a nuclear power. Kim pointed to "unbridled remarks" by U.S. officials, which call on North Korea to abandon nuclear weapons first, and be compensated afterward, and threatened to withdraw from an historic meeting planned between leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump.

U.S. economic data was mixed overnight, with Building Permits coming in on expectation at +1.35M, Housing Starts below expectations at 1.29M vs 1.32M expectation, and Industrial production climbing by 0.7% in April, higher than the 0.6% rise forecasted by economists.

Oil prices remain elevated, finishing the day higher with Crude Inventories coming in lower than the market had expected at -1.4M barrels, vs the forecasted decline of -1.1M barrels.

Overnight data tonight includes US Philly Fed Manufacturing Index, and US Unemployment Claims.

Global equities: Dow +0.1%, S&P 500 +0.3%, FTSE +0.2%, DAX -+0.2%, CAC +0.3%, Nikkei -0.4%, Shanghai -0.1%.

Gold prices are unchanged overnight at $1,288 an ounce. WTI Crude Oil prices continue to push higher, up 0.25% trading at $71.50 a barrel.

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